Week 7: Watching

This article written by Foucault entitled, 'Panopticism' discusses his social theory about a ruling and monitoring of power. This theory is described to position a tower in the centre that watches and acts as a tool to refrain those around the tower for behaving inappropriately as those watching from the tower have the ruling power of discipline and punishment. Foucault also mentions that even though there is said to be someone watching from the tower the glass is one way where those outside the tower, of which could be criminals, are not certain if they are being watched at every moment, forcing them to behave in a particular manner. The effect of the Panopticon is 'to induce in the inmate a state of conscious and permanent visibility that assures the automatic functioning of power (Foucault 1977, p 201)

This theory was used to manage society during the seventeenth century at the time of the plague to minimise the spread and human interaction on the streets. (Foucault 1977, p 195). He also mentions that this design is suitable for experimenting on men, defining power relations in society, to supervise workers, to make beggars work, in the classroom. A note also can be taken that not only can this theory cement power however it also guides production to ensure that workers are in fact working and not loitering around.  

Bibliography

Foucault, M., 1977, ‘Panopticism’ in Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison, translated by Alan Sheridan, Penguin, London, pp 195-228. 

Week 6: Speaking & Listening

The article 'The Virtual Sphere', discusses the internet as a domain for public opinion and a part of the public sphere. Written in 2002, this article refers to the idea that the internet could potentially be home to open public discussion and disregard hierarchy or positions in a society behind the responder.  As we are aware 9 years later the internet is having much more of a drastic input into our lives through sharing opinions online, which are constantly expressed on social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook, online petitions and an expression of our political opinions are even made clear in blogs. The article debates whether the internet is a part of the public sphere or the virtual sphere and it appears to reside mutual to both.

Bibliography
Papacharissi, z., 2002, The virtual sphere:The internet as a public sphere, New Media and Society, Vol 4, No.1, pp.9-27

Week 5: Mediating

The article ”Just Like a Movie”?: 9/11 and Hollywood Spectacle,’ suggests that the 9/11 attacks could be described as “Something from a movie” He uses the techniques of comparison of similarities as a persuasive tool in his article and refers to how our perspective of movies such as Godzilla, Independence Day and alike films which demonstrate the destruction of New York are viewed differently post September 11. King also discusses the  similarities, differences and ‘real and fiction’. This is achieved through the use of  the coverage of September 11 attacks on the twin towers.

The article also proposes that it has become more difficult to distinguish real with fiction, despite mentioning the difference between raw footage played as ‘breaking news’ in contrast to the unfolding of the events- of which a loose narrative can be created. King uses the example of the villain being introduced. Through the mediation of creating a character as the villain and presenting a bias the lines may be blurred between the factual event and a movie. A relation can also be with the impact of the raw footage in contrast to a movie, blurring the lines between fact and fiction. Also mentioned is the influence of September 11 and the perspective of the viewers when they view movies of destruction. 

I tend to agree with some of the points presented in the article and can clearly see the relation between film and fact, the differences through shaky camera work (for the raw footage) and dolly shots as well as how the perception of movies can be altered due to a sensitivity developed between the audience once aware of the tragic events of September 11. 

Bibliography

King, G., 2005, ‘”Just Like a Movie”?: 9/11 and Hollywood Spectacle’ in The Spectacle of the Real: from Hollywood to Reality TV and Beyond, ed. Geoff King, Intellect Books, Bristol, pp. 47-57.